Sweet Potato Salad with Caramelized Red Onions

When I hear “salad”, it usually conjures images of lazy summer dinners or outdoor picnics – days when you yearn for something cool and crisp. But this salad is all about Fall. The roasted sweet potatoes and caramelized red onions are enveloped in a sweet, piquant dressing and served with the peppery bite of arugula. The big kick of flavor comes from the toasted guajillo chile dressing. Don’t be scared – it’s not spicy. Guajillos are rich, smoky and only register at 6,000 heat units on the Scoville scale (the spiciest of chiles and peppers can clock in at 855,000 units or more!). My favorite source for dried chiles is Penzey’s. They have a huge selection of quality herbs, spices and dried chiles.

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Sweet Potato Salad with Caramelized Red Onions

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Another tomato recipe already? Well folks, we’re at that time of year when you can use all the tomato recipes you can get your hands on. And this is a great one for using up a lot of tomatoes with minimal effort and fantastic results. Best of all, this is a perfect recipe to make in large batches and freeze – it’s an easy way to capture the flavor of summer tomatoes and enjoy them when it’s cold and dreary.

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Roasted Tomato Sauce

Fresh Tomato Salsa

This is prime, peak season for tomatoes and they’re the perfect ripeness and flavor for an outstanding fresh tomato salsa. The key to a chunky texture, rather than a soggy salsa, is to let the tomatoes drain in a colander for 30 minutes to purge excess water. Then simply toss with the other ingredients, season with lime juice, salt, sugar and a pinch of pepper.

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Fresh Tomato Salsa

Roasted Ratatouille

Admittedly, this recipe is about one week late. Last week’s box contents were a perfect mix for ratatouille – eggplant, zucchini, garlic, onion, and parsley. But many of you, like me I suspect, have vegetables that hang around the week after and this is a perfect recipe for clearing out your refrigerator. There are a lot of variations and styles of ratatouille and everyone has their favorite. I am a big fan of roasting and I like my vegetables to remain separate and distinct, so this version is perfect for my tastes. You can serve this bruschetta-style on toasted bread with goat cheese. Or, as a side dish to fish or poultry, warm or room temperature.

As I was researching this recipe, I discovered a little tidbit about eggplants that I never knew: there are male and female eggplants! Females have more seeds and some people find them more bitter than their male counterparts. Who knew? You learn something new every day.

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Roasted Ratatouille

Potato & Leek Flatbread with Roasted Garlic

What goes into the oven pungent, bitter and sharp, then comes out mellow, nutty and buttery?

Roasted Garlic: one of those wonders of culinary alchemy. The taste transformation is amazing. I happen to like it fresh, too, but if you’re put off by the taste of raw garlic, you will be amazed at the flavor of roasted garlic. When you add that to the earthy flavor of the potatoes and leeks and the salty, savory Gruyére cheese, you have a winning combination.

It’s a versatile condiment. You can use it on pizza or flatbread, as I did in this recipe. Use it on sandwiches, puree it into dips and spreads, or serve it with crusty, warm bread, with or without butter.

QUICK ROASTED GARLIC
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Break the heads into individual cloves, but do not peel them. Spread them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with oil. Bake, shaking pan occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, squeeze roasted garlic from skins and mash to a paste.

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Potato & Leek Flatbread with Roasted Garlic

box no. 06 | contents

• Lettuce
• Mesclun Mix
  
• Basil
• Parsley
• Red Cabbage
• Green Pepper
  
• Zucchini
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
  
• Sweet Onions
  
• Garlic
• Swiss Chard
  

I get spoiled in the summer and fall months by Farmer John’s garlic. The dried garlic you buy in the store can’t even begin to compete with fresh heads of garlic. There’s no hint of bitterness. No inner green sprout popping up when the head gets too old. It’s pure garlic flavor and I never let one, single clove go to waste.

We’re still knee-deep in cucumber and zucchini season. I think it’s about time I make a couple batches of zucchini muffins and pop them in the freezer for when we’re not so burnt out on them! As for the cucumber, I’m still making Tzatziki Sauce once a week and I serve it with homemade toasted pita chips* (*look for an upcoming post for the recipe).

Click here to download a pdf of the Angelic Organics Farm News for box no. 06.